· H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat: Continuous follow-up of the initiative in implementation of the directives of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi regarding the expedited completion of projects according to specified timelines.

· EGP 25 billion in investments within the 2025/2026 Plan to launch projects of the second phase of the Presidential Initiative “Decent Life” (Haya Karima). 

· Enhancing community participation in monitoring project implementation within the “Decent Life” (Haya Karima) initiative by making them available through the “Sharek” application.

· Criteria and guidelines for selecting the villages covered by the initiative in each phase, following an evidence-based planning approach.

· The second phase of the “Decent Life”(Haya Karima)  initiative targets 1,667 villages across 20 governorates inhabited by 21 million citizens, with 29% of targeted villages located in Upper Egypt.

· Continuing to rehabilitate “Decent Life” (Haya Karima) villages to comply with environmental standards in the water, energy, and resource-use sectors.

The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation issued a report reviewing the developments and targets of the National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Villages “Decent Life” (Haya Karima) within the FY 2025/2026 economic and social development plan.

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, stated that the “Decent Life” (Haya Karima) initiative represents an unprecedented development model in economic and urban development, pointing to the praise it has received from international institutions and organizations, and its registration on the UN Goal Accelerators Platform in July 2020 and the Best International Practices Platform in July 2021, both affiliated with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

Al-Mashat added that “Decent Life” (Haya Karima) is distinguished by the wide scope of its coverage across all rural governorates of the Republic, covering about 60% of Egypt’s total population. It also covers most of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to health, access to clean drinking water, sanitation, and the three dimensions of sustainable development, with policies and programs that take into account economic, environmental, and urban aspects, in addition to social aspects related to improving public services in Egyptian villages and addressing social disparities among rural residents. She confirmed the continuous follow-up of the initiative in line with the directives of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to expedite project completion according to specified timetables.

Investments allocated for the second phase in the FY 2025/2026 Plan

H.E. explained that the total financial allocations approved for the first phase amounted to EGP 350 billion, in addition to EGP 25 billion allocated to begin implementing the objectives of the second phase in the areas of drinking water and sanitation projects during FY 2025/2026, subject to increase as the executive program for the targeted works develops. H.E. noted that the initiative follows a specific timeline with phased implementation, where each phase has a defined geographic scope, pre-determined objectives, and estimated financial allocations for its programs.

Enhancing community participation

The Minister added that, in line with the principle of good governance, awareness, and community participation in ensuring the success of the initiative, the Ministry launched the mobile application “Sharek,” which publishes detailed data on the most important projects that have been implemented or are currently being implemented. The app aims to raise citizens’ awareness of achievements already made or underway, while allowing them to express opinions, advice, and suggestions on ways to enhance proposed projects or propose innovative ideas for new ones, in preparation for study and potential inclusion in the initiative’s economic map.

· To download “Sharek 2030” via Apple Store:

https://apps.apple.com/eg/app/sharek-2030/id1576704516 

· To download “Sharek 2030” via Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.project.egy2030

Al-Mashat highlighted the active and accurate follow-up of performance levels to ensure transparency, accountability, and disclosure of information, referring to the Ministry’s evaluation of the performance of 50 villages in the first phase, and the Ministry’s announcement of the executive status of programs and works under the first phase. She stressed its follow-up from the perspective of achieving objectives and benefiting the community, guided by specific quantitative indicators and standards, which is strong evidence of the State’s commitment to properly and continuously monitoring the initiative’s performance.

H.E. further stated that the initiative is committed to a strategic planning approach based on assessing the situation prior to the initiative, then setting objectives, and finally measuring achievements in light of those objectives — identifying success factors and shortcomings, and adopting the necessary incentive or corrective policies for development paths. It also relies on community participation in identifying the needs of the “Egyptian village” and determining its development potential.

The Minister also pointed out that criteria and determinants for selecting the villages included in each phase of the initiative apply the principle of evidence-based targeting and planning, relying on data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). This helps to understand the economic, social, and environmental characteristics of each village, the status of available services, and spatial change dynamics.

The second phase of the “Decent Life” initiative

Regarding the second phase of the “Decent Life” initiative, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat explained that this phase targets 20 governorates, covering 52 centers and a total of 1,667 villages inhabited by 21.3 million citizens. Upper Egypt governorates account for 45% of the targeted governorates, 36% of the targeted centers, and 29% of the targeted villages. H.E. outlined the quantitative targets for the executive works of the second phase, which include key projects in the water sector through the extension and reinforcement of drinking water networks with a length of 2,350 km, the implementation of 18 drinking water stations, and 315,000 drinking water connections, and in the sanitation sector by adding 97 wastewater treatment station pumps with a capacity of 1 million m³/day, alongside 1.8 million household sanitation connections.

Integrating the environmental dimension into the “Decent Life” initiative

H.E. emphasized that, in light of efforts to integrate the environmental dimension into the “Decent Life” (Haya Karima) project, it is planned to continue implementing the “Green Village” initiative, which aims to rehabilitate “Decent Life” villages to align with the latest global environmental standards of the World Green Building Council and to obtain the “Tarsheed” certificate for green rural communities. The initiative focuses on three main areas: energy, water, and resources. Four villages have already obtained certification (“Major General Sobih” in New Valley: 2024, Shama in Menoufia: 2024, Nahttai in Gharbia: 2023, and Fares in Aswan: 2022), with more villages to follow.

Key indicators of the first phase of the initiative

The Ministry’s report highlighted the share of Upper Egypt governorates in the total allocations for the first phase of the “Decent Life” initiative, with Minya Governorate ranking first with 18.2% (EGP 43.22 billion), followed by Sohag (EGP 43.18 billion), Qena (EGP 39.41 billion), Assiut (EGP 34.41 billion), and Aswan (EGP 27.95 billion).

The report also noted the works implemented under the first phase by the end of the first half of 2025, which included around 23,000 projects across 1,477 villages in 52 centers across 20 governorates, benefiting a total of 18 million citizens. The average implementation rate for the first phase reached 86.5%, with disbursements amounting to EGP 298.3 billion. Upper Egypt governorates accounted for 68% of the first-phase allocations (EGP 237 billion), benefiting 11 million citizens, representing 61% of total beneficiaries.

Completed works include 261 drinking water stations and 1,350 drinking water connection projects with 455,000 household connections in villages, aiming to improve the availability of drinking water services to 100%. Additionally, 22 wastewater treatment plants, 591 sanitation projects, and 878 sanitation connection projects were completed, with 1.37 million household sanitation connections, raising sanitation coverage from 20% to 90%. Health sector achievements include the completion of 685 health units, a central hospital, and 365 ambulance units. Education projects added 15,000 classrooms and achieved literacy for 596,000 citizens. In parallel, 925 youth centers were established and developed as part of the State’s efforts to advance human development services.